08 Jul 2015

Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, recently procurred dairy cattle sexed semen with the aim of increasing the number of female dairy cattle to improve the production of milk and dairy products.

In an interview, chief scientific officer in the ministry, Mr Letsomo Mariri, said the initiative was introduced in January, after the ministry figured it would be a solution to the shortage of dairy production in the country.

Milk shortage, he said, had left Botswana with no option but to import dairy products from South Africa. Mr Mariri said the semen was manipulated to have a 99 percent chance of producing female cattle, thus giving it the name, sexed-semen.

He added that after its introduction in January, farmers started buying and using the semen in March, adding that it then takes nine months to produce a calf out of the semen.
As a result, the first calves to be produced from the manipulated semen were expected around December.

Mr Mariri said it was only after the female cattle has produced the calf that follow ups on the progress of the initiative is expected to be done by dairy officers, who would collect information on how many calves had been produced at that point.

He said the sexed semen was being sold to dairy farmers only, and that such farmers showed interest in buying and using sexed semen by making requests with the Ministry of Agriculture.

Principal technical officer at Ramatlabama Artificial Insemination Centre, where the semen is stored for sale, Mr Kumbulani Magaise said the ministry ordered 872 straws of dairy cattle sexed semen from a company by the name of Semex Alliance in South Africa, of which 432 were Friesian breed, 289 of Brown Swiss breed and 160 of Jersey Cow breed.

So far, he said 276 straws of the semen had been sold and were left with 596, of which 133 straws were Friesian, 101 Brown Swiss and 42 for Jersey, adding that the semen is sold at P150 per straw.

Mr Magaise said that their centre only stores and sells the semen to a list of dairy farmers who had been identified by the ministry as dairy farmers.

However, Mr Magaise added that most farmers did not have the equipment for artificial insemination, adding that, more farmers need to be educated about artificial insemination and receive training as some did not even know about it.

He however said artificial insemination was a very important exercise that could be of great benefit to the farmer’s businesses.

He expressed concern that only a few farmers were coming forward to buy sexed semen from their storage.

He said some of the farmers who buy the semen had also complained about the high prices which could be the reason some could not afford to buy it.

Mr Magaise said the equipment for artificial insemination was not readily available in the country, adding that they used to sell it at the centre, but now farmers had to buy it from South Africa as the ministry experienced lack of finances, and could no longer afford to order and sell them.

He said such equipment include the artificial insemination kit box and the nitrogen flasks which come in different sizes and prices and are used to keep the semen frozen and alive for usage.

Mr Magaise said the laboratory receives liquid nitrogen every Sunday from the South African suppliers and keep it in a 3,400 kg tank before selling to farmers.

He said the liquid nitrogen together with the nitrogen flask, keep semen frozen and would be defrosted again when it is being used.

On whether dairy farmers were able to perform artificial insemination on their own after buying sexed semen, scientific officer Mr Tirelo Leisi said the farmers had been trained at the centre.

Mr Leisi said those who did not receive training were assisted from their respective district officers, who either train them on artificial insemination or lend them government inseminators. Ends